Recent Stories

Early Childhood Education

New Mexico PreK And the Terrible, No Good, Horrible, Very Bad Lottery System

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A little over three and a half years ago, freelancer Sascha Guinn Anderson and her family moved to New Mexico from the state of New York. Her family’s decision to move here was not based on a business or tax incentive, but rather, was based on the promise of a public, Pre-Kindergarten early learning program (PreK) for their children. “In New York, basically you buy your way into PreK,” said Anderson. She explained the inequitable and lengthy process of securing a spot:  Beginning at age two, families often pay for their children to enter expensive, private, early childhood programs in order to later be grandfathered into neighboring, public, PreK programs for three and four-year-olds. Anderson recalls mounting pressure to register her two-year-old in an expensive, early learning program.

2020 Election

GOP candidate condones “blowing them (aslyum seekers) away with my .44 Magnum” at New Mexico meeting

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This week’s headlines have been absolutely dominated by the downright chilling effect of President Trump using overt, racist language about four sitting members of congress. His attempt on Thursday to walk back his endorsement of chants at his North Carolina rally of “send her back” is clearly disingenuous. The hate-filled rhetoric is out there and Trump supporters are clearly feeling free to express their own vitriol with wild abandon. Unfortunately, this appears to be manifesting itself right here in New Mexico and being encouraged by Republican candidates eyeing next year’s elections. 

Chris Mathys

Chris Mathys, a self-declared “conservative Christian and supporter of President Donald Trump,” held a listening session in the small community (less than 1000 people) of Mimbres in Grant County this past weekend. According to an article in the Las Cruces Sun-News, racists sentiment were loudly expressed by many in attendance and not at all rebuked by Mathys at any point.

2019 Legislature

It’s Always Susana in New Mexico (at least when it comes to oil and gas)

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ProgressNow New Mexico has published a number of articles about the deep ties the oil and gas industry has with former Governor Susana Martinez’ administration. But when you stop and look at the makeup of top lobbying groups like the New Mexico Oil and Gas Association (NMOGA), so-called Power the Future, and top lobbyists for other extraction industry titans, the numbers are truly stunning. At least nine top lobbyists currently working in the extraction industry (or lobbyist adjacent) came directly out of the Martinez administration. The big problem? New Mexico doesn’t have a law that requires a “cooling off” period for officials once they leave the public sector and return to private life.

Education

Universal Pre-K: New Mexico’s Bold Next Step

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Last week, we asked our readers their opinion about every three and four year old having access to high-quality, universal pre-k. Responses indicated that high quality, universal pre-k is not only a priority for families with young children, but it is also of importance to our community as a whole, providing a strong, educational foundation for future generations as well as an opportunity for New Mexico to improve pay for pre-k teachers, many of whom utilize food stamps and Medicaid to help make ends meet. 

Our readers wrote to us with their pre-k stories- both the good and the bad, a reflection of the current state of our pre-k system. Some readers talked about the ways in which the pre-k system helped ready their own children for school, while educators chimed in about the difference they were able to see when a child has attended pre-k. Others, frustrated with the system, talked about the never-ending wait-lists, the lottery system that only serves a small portion of the population of three and four year olds, and the shameful pay that keeps some pre-k educators living in poverty. However troublesome, these stories are not new.

Uncategorized

**UPDATED-GOP Staffer: Blacks Should Thank Whites Post-Slavery

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Yep, you read the headline right. This week, GOP Staffer, Stella Padilla, added to her own barrage of hate-fueled social media posts with a new image depicting deceased Civil War soldiers, the text above it reading: Over 620,000 White People Died to Free Black Slaves And Still To This Day Not Even 1 Thank You. (See below for original post and enlarged, *graphic* image.)

This is the same GOP contractor who sought to exploit the conditions in which asylum seekers were going to be housed in Albuquerque. After trespassing, she and GOP side-kick Dinah Vargas were kicked off the closed campus for unauthorized filming. You would think that the GOP-which has incessantly beaten the drum on Real ID initiatives, and is obsessed with people’s birth certificates would have done their due diligence to vet a prospective employee.

2019 Legislature

Methane: What New Mexicans need to know

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THE PROBLEM

New Mexico has a methane waste and pollution problem – it’s costing our schools millions in revenue, ruining our air and harming our climate for future generations. Methane is a powerful climate change pollutant responsible for 25 percent of the warming we experience today. It is also the primary component of natural gas and a valuable energy resource. Each year in New Mexico, oil and gas companies waste $275 million-worth of natural gas through venting, flaring, and leaks which costs the state over $40 million in royalty and tax revenue that could fund public education. Oil and gas operations also release ozone-forming pollutants that worsen respiratory diseases such as emphysema and trigger asthma attacks.

Random Stuff

Progress Now NM Welcomes New Progressive Voice

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Last fall, our boots-on-the-ground grassroots movement helped ensure we elected more progressive legislators to office. This January, we pushed progressive policy issues to the forefront at the Legislature. It’s now June, which means our calendar is stacked with municipal elections, legislative interim committees and a clock that’s counting the days until primary season! Fortunately, our Progress Now New Mexico team is growing to help keep you informed every step of the way! We’re excited to welcome another team member ready to fight battles on behalf of our progressive community.

Healthcare

Picket Planned After Workers Snubbed During Negotiations with UNMH

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Last week, the National Union of Hospital and Healthcare Employees Local 1199, started a series of pickets against UNM Hospital (UNMH) after entering into contentious contract negotiations where local nurses, caregivers and staff would lose benefits that are already provided to them if they sign a new negotiated agreement. Now, the union is asking for community support in turning up the heat on UNMH. This Thursday, June 20 at 5:30pm, the union will hold another picket on Lomas, outside of UNMH. Members request the presence of community allies who believe in better working conditions, fair pay and respect for workers. The picket comes on the heels of UNMH’s deal to provide their CEO a cash compensation as high as $155,000 in addition to a base salary of $620,000.

Actions

Almost 500 New Mexicans have already signed letters supporting our clean energy future: Now it’s your turn!

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A few weeks back ProgressNow New Mexico published a blog exposing so-called “Power the Future” for the (likely) Koch Brothers-funded mouthpieces they really are. The response from across the state has been incredible! Click Here to send a letter NOW! Our friends at Conservation Voters of New Mexico even sent our blog out to their members with a call to action to tell Larry Behrens, PTF’s local spokes-lackey and long-time NM conservative mouthpiece, that New Mexicans are not reversing course. We’re invested in clean, renewable energy future AND in ensuring that workers from across the state, including those in the oil and gas fields, are represented with longterm and sustainable options not tied to the volatile global energy syndicates.

Featured

New Mexico PreK And the Terrible, No Good, Horrible, Very Bad Lottery System

By |

A little over three and a half years ago, freelancer Sascha Guinn Anderson and her family moved to New Mexico from the state of New York. Her family’s decision to move here was not based on a business or tax incentive, but rather, was based on the promise of a public, Pre-Kindergarten early learning program (PreK) for their children.